May 5, 2017

Landline Call Blocking

AT&T, Verizon, and others have a feature
for home landline phones that blocks 'Anonymous' and 'Private'
callers. It will not block 'Unknown' or 'Out-of-Area' callers,
so aunt Bertha's call will get through.

Pick up your phone and dial *77. This will activate the
Anonymous Call Rejection feature on your landline. Anonymous and
private numbers will not cause your phone to ring. When
Anonymous Call Rejection is turned on, private callers will hear
an automated message. The automated message will prompt them to
hang up, unblock or “un-private” their number, and call again.
If the caller makes their number visible and calls again, your
phone will ring. If they remain private, your phone will never
ring.

To turn off this feature, pick up your phone and dial *87.

There are also other options, such as dialing *60 for AT&T
landline phones to block 10 local numbers, but the company
charges a monthly fee for the privilege.